President Donald Trump’s administration again proposes to zero out federal funding for the CPB in his FY 2021 budget proposal, getting familiar opposition from the entity’s supporters. He sought to draw down CPB’s funding in each of his budget proposals since taking office in 2017 (see 1903180063). Trump seeks an increase in appropriations to the FCC and NTIA, but wants to slightly decrease the amount provided to the FTC. Trump signed off in December on FY 2020 appropriations, including $339 million for the FCC, $331 million for the FTC and $40.4 million for NTIA (see 1912190068).
Up against deadline to vote legislation out of committee, Washington state’s House Innovation, Technology and Economic Development Committee cleared a comprehensive privacy bill. It's based on a Senate bill that’s supported by Microsoft and opposed by consumer privacy advocates. The committee wrestled with nearly 30 amendments at Friday’s meeting, adopting some changes to tweak various definitions and rejecting sweeping proposals to add a private right of action and remove a section on private use of facial recognition technology.
The public notice setting up application and bidding procedures for citizens broadband radio service licenses to be voted on at the Feb. 28 meeting (see here) sets up the agency for a long-awaited CBRS auction, but still Ieaves some issues unaddressed, FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly blogged Friday. The agency also released the other draft items. O'Rielly said unresolved are ways to reduce the protection area sizes and increasing power limits in the band.
ISPs that win bids in the FCC Rural Digital Opportunity Fund program won't be prevented from seeking additional support from state broadband programs, but the RDOF Phase I auctions won't be open to census block groups that received state subsidies for 25/3 Mbps. That's according to new language in the final order posted Friday for docket 19-126. Commissioners voted along party lines Jan. 30 (see 2001300001).
The ongoing license hearing for radio broadcaster Entertainment Media Trust -- with Sinclair Broadcast’s hearing designation order (see 2001270054) and the action against prison phone provider Securus (see 1904020076) --- could indicate an FCC crackdown on issues related to misrepresentation or a lack of candor, attorneys told us. The case at hand is expected to be dismissed over EMT’s failure to participate if the company doesn’t make a Monday deadline to demonstrate why that shouldn’t happen (see 2001240052).
The House Commerce Committee’s telecom agenda is set to be dominated in the coming weeks by leaders’ work to reach a deal on legislation on allocating the proceeds of a coming FCC auction of spectrum on the 3.7-4.2 GHz C band, lawmakers and lobbyists told us. Committee members are being pressed by a planned Feb. 28 FCC vote on Chairman Ajit Pai’s C-band plan, which he unveiled Thursday (see 2002060057) and released Friday. Other items are also percolating, including on public safety communications, network resiliency and broadband.
The up-to $9.7 billion in payments the FCC is proposing be spent on satellite operators seems to be a hard-and-fast figure with little to no commission wiggle room, we are told. Chairman Ajit Pai's office didn't comment. The 185-page C-band draft order released Friday says Intelsat would be eligible for up to half -- $4.85 billion -- of the accelerated relocation payments for making 2021 and 2023 spectrum clearing deadlines. SES would be eligible for $4 billion, Eutelsat for $467 million, Telesat for $374 million and Star One for $13.6 million.
Opponents of an FCC proposal to forbear from imposing unbundling obligations on ILECs said it would harm competition and limit consumer choice. CLECs use ILECs' dark fiber and other unbundled network elements (UNEs) to gain customers before funding fiber deployments, stakeholders commented, posting through Thursday in docket 19-308 (see 1911220052). ILECs backed the NPRM, saying there's enough competition to justify forbearance. California regulators had concerns, as did telcos in areas rebuilding from disasters.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai proposes holding Phase I auctions for the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund on Oct. 22. Pai circulated a public notice among commissioners Thursday proposing procedures for the Phase I auctions, which would allot up to $16 billion of the $20.4 billion USF rural broadband program, he blogged, outlining his agenda for the Feb. 28 meeting. The RDOF auction procedural PN is one of eight items for what Pai is calling "spectrum month." Drafts are expected to be released Friday. Pai's proposal Thursday to pay up to $9.7 billion to C-band incumbents to free the spectrum for a Dec. 8 auction (see 2002060057) will lead the February meeting.
Local governments and the FCC are gearing up for oral argument Monday at the 9th U.S. Court of Appeals in Pasadena, California, on two commission orders the agency and industry say are needed to streamline 5G infrastructure deployment. Judges’ decision about whether the commission legally pre-empted local authority in the right of way could have broader impact for local authority in telecom, municipal attorneys and others told us.